Few Americans truly contemplate how powerless, and at times hopeless, it could be to have all major aspects of their lives taken out of their control. And, worse, placed in the hands of a person in a position of power who may prove to be uneducated, unaware, ignorant, incompetent, reckless, vindictive, punitive, callous, or abusive.
Even probation officers who consider themselves compassionate or reasonable sometimes engage in thoughts, decisions, and procedures which may knowingly or unknowingly undermine basic safety, bodily and psychological wellbeing. Even if well-intended, sometimes they are too busy to know what is really impacting a person on their caseload. And, sometimes it might be difficult or untrustworthy for a person to disclose information to the probation officer, therefore they end up suffering in silence between a rock and a hard place perhaps even giving up their life due to the impossibility of a situation.